Floating life-line



i (No Model.)

E. MAYNARD.

PLOATLNG LIFE LINE.

No. 411,161. Patented Sept. 17l 1889.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDIVARD MAYNARD, OF BROOKLYN, NEIV YORK.

FLOATING LIFE-LINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 411,161, datedSeptember 1'?, 1889.`

Application filed May Z3, 1889. Serial No. 311, 812. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD MAYNARD, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kingsand State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Floating LifeLines or IIawsers, of which the following `is a specification,

Ropes have been made with floats attached thereto, and in some instancesa tube or bag of tieXible material filled with granulated cork has beenused as a core around which the twisted strands are laid, but thetension on the strands causes them to embed themselves into thegranulated cork and tube, and suoli granulated cork becomes water-soakedand looses its buoyancy.

My invention relates toalifeline orhawser adapted to float in the water,so that such life line or hawser can be thrown overboard and paid outfrom a vessel, so that it may reach the shore, in cases ofemergency-such as shipwreck-wh ere a line cannot be thrown, or the linemay be allowed to troll behind a fishing or other vessel as a life-linefor any person falling overboard.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents my improvement as applied toahawser, and Fig. 2 shows a life-line.

I make use of cylinders of cork or similar light wood that will'iioateasily. These cylinders a a should be rather longer than theirdiameter, and they are placed end to end in forming the core, and theyare covered with a tube, preferably composed of braided threads orstrands b l), so that the cork cylinders cannot escape, and for smalllife-lines the strands b Inay be sufficiently large and strong tocompose the rope or line; but for -large ropes and hawsers the strandsc, Fig. l,

are applied around the braided tube containing the cork cylinders.

The cork cylinders are sufficiently strong not tobe injured or displacedor put out of shape by the tension of the strands, and they do notbecome water-soaked as rapidly as granulated cork, and hence retaintheir buoyant properties, and the line or hawser is .floated by suchcork cylinders and the iioating power is uniform from end to end of theline or hawser. rlhe corks a a Inay be strung upon a thread or cord, asshown in Fig. l.

III case of a vessel in distress at sea in a storm a line of thischaracter can be thrown over from another vessel and troll behind thesame as such vessel changes its course until the iioating line isbrought to the vessel in distress and is picked up and drawn aboard andfastened, so as to b'e used as a means for communicating in savingpassengers or in drawing aboard a line for towing.

This life-line may also be used at ferries or in fishing or yachting',and be thrown over boardfor saving persons from drowning.

I claim as my invention- The life line or hawser having' a core of shortcylinders of cork or similar wood with the strands around and inolosingthe same, substantially as set forth. y

Signed by me this 20th day of May, 1889.

E. MAYNARD.

Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINCKNEY, WILLIAM G. MoTT.

